


There's Nothing Better

by realMurph



Category: Carmilla (Web Series), Carmilla - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Mild Angst, so fluffly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-20
Updated: 2016-10-20
Packaged: 2018-08-23 12:49:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8328601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realMurph/pseuds/realMurph
Summary: After emerging from the pit, Laura and Carmilla return to the Hollis home, to rest and sort out what they had been through.
featuring: fluff, chef Laura, and a pouty, grumpy ex-vampire





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [musicluver2312](https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicluver2312/gifts).



> Hello! Oh my gosh, this was supposed to be a short one-shot and it completely spiraled. What even happened. Anyway... this is absolutely the fluffiest fluff that ever fluffed. Mild angst, nothing to worry about. My gays only get happy endings. ;)
> 
> Title from the song of the same name by Shake Shake go, that was posted on Laura's transmedia Tumblr, which I accept as their official 'couple' song. :)
> 
> Dedicated to my best friend, hardcore Hollstein shipper, and excellent human being, Emileigh.

                The house was completely dark when they entered. A sliver of light crept through as the door opened, illuminating a light switch on the wall. A hand reached out, groping, until light finally flooded the front hall. Two girls stood in the doorway, blinking rapidly in the sudden brightness. The taller of the two, a beautiful pale-skinned girl with long, dark, wavy hair, had her arm slung around the other girl, simultaneously leaning on her and holding her close. The smaller of the two, all soft features, honey blonde hair and tired brown eyes, freed herself from her companion’s embrace, leaving only their hands connected, and lead the way further in to the house.

                “Welcome to Casa de Hollis,” Laura said, flashing a grin to the girl following closely behind her. Carmilla, tired to her bones, managed a small smile in return. She let herself be toted through the house, her eyes never leaving the girl in front of her rather than taking in the new environment. They soon arrived in the kitchen, where Laura quickly sat Carmilla on a barstool, moved to stand between her legs, and threw her arms around her neck, drawing a deep, shuddering breath. Surprised, Carmilla wrapped her arms tightly around Laura’s waist, burying her face in the girl’s neck and breathing deeply. She was elated to discover that while all her senses were now much duller, Laura still felt as warm and soft in her arms, her hair still smelled as sweet, and if she concentrated, she could still hear her tiny girlfriend’s heartbeat, strong and steady.

                As she felt Laura start to shake against her, she raised one hand to run gently through honey blonde hair and said, “Hey, what’s wrong?” Pulling back enough to see her face, Carmilla noticed a few tears rolling down Laura’s face. Frowning, Carmilla wiped them away gently. “Why are you crying? We’re ok now, everyone’s ok.” _Thanks to you_ , she added silently.

                “I know, I’m sorry.” Laura leaned back farther and swiped at her face as a smile broke through. “I’m OK, I’m just… I’m just tired.” Laura met Carmilla’s eyes, willing her to understand. And she did. Carmilla realized that Laura wasn’t quite ready to talk about everything that had just happened, and that was fine. She’d wait until Laura was ready. Smiling, Carmilla pushed Laura’s hair behind her ear, caressing her face lovingly.

                “Of course, cutie. Do you want to get some sleep?” Before Laura could answer, a low rumbling filled the room. With a start, they realized it was coming from Carmilla’s stomach. Glaring down at herself, Carmilla bit out angrily, “What. Was. That?”

                Trying not to laugh, Laura said, “That’s your stomach, Carm. I think you’re hungry.” Carmilla scoffed.

                “What?! You mean this is like, a Thing now?! What the hell…”

Swallowing her giggles, Laura responded, “Afraid so. Welcome to the world of the living. We eat and sleep regularly, and hunger is uncomfortable. Your body makes noises if you ignore it too long now.” Carmilla looked aghast at this new information, and Laura lost the battle against her laughter. Grumbling and making a face, Carmilla slid off the barstool and stood smelling the air, searching for food.

“This is stupid, I smell nothing,” she growled. She crossed her arms and stood pouting until Laura came and wrapped her arms around the grumpy ex-vampire from behind, resting her head against her shoulder blades. Carmilla sighed in defeat and let her arms fall to lay on top of Laura’s.

“Carm, why don’t you take a shower and relax while I make us something to eat. There’s gotta be something here that’s still edible.” Perking up, Carmilla turned in her girlfriend’s arms and rested her hands on the other girl’s hips.

Leaning in close to Laura’s ear, she whispered, “That’s one plan. Consider this alternative: you come take a shower with me and I find something to eat-” she was interrupted by another loud growl from her stomach, this one accompanied by an uncomfortable rumbly feeling. Carmilla sighed and scowled as Laura burst out in laughter again.

“Sorry lady killer, looks like that plan is going to have to wait. Go on. Up the stairs, down the hall, first door on the left. I keep some spare pj’s stashed in the linen closet in there.” Laura smiled and gave Carmilla a gentle nudge towards the door they had come through. Carmilla sighed in defeat and kissed Laura chastely on the lips before trudging back down the hall towards the stairs.

Climbing to the second floor, Carmilla couldn’t help but pause and examine the many pictures decorating the wall. Laura, at varying ages, smiled down at her, often accompanied by her father. Graduation, birthdays, some school play, a baby picture- two decades of life, laid out in full color. Carmilla smiled fondly and ran her fingers over one of the pictures, a candid of Laura smiling brightly and looking at something off camera. A twinge of sadness hit her, as her old life, before and after she had died, was now gone, nothing to document it. A small part of her craved this normalcy that Laura took for granted, and a small part of her, growing larger every hour, believed she might find that with Laura. And maybe one day she could find her way up on this wall, standing next to a girl who was everything to her and more. Smiling and hopeful, she continued upstairs, now fully in search of something clean and not smelling like underground death pit.

-

Downstairs, Laura had managed to scrape up some pasta and sauce from a jar. While that was simmering on the stove, she went upstairs to her old bedroom to find some new clothes. Briefly she considered joining Carmilla as she heard the water running, but as tired as she was, she decided against it. Bringing fresh pj’s to the downstairs hall bathroom, Laura washed up as best she could and changed, feeling about 60% more human after she did so. Sighing happily, she returned to the kitchen to collect the food from the stove and put in on dishes which she set on the table. As she heard the shower turn off upstairs, she began to clean up her mess as she waited for Carmilla. The girl appeared, hair dripping, as Laura was sitting down to eat. She looked up as Carmilla entered and smiled at the sight of her in a long Tardis t-shirt and harry potter printed pants. The smile turned into a laugh as Carmilla sat down as well and scooted her chair over until she was right next to Laura.

Carmilla looked suspiciously at her pasta. “Are you sure this is edible, creampuff? I’ve seen your culinary tastes over the past year. They are… frightening.” Laura made a face at her, unable to speak around her mouthful of warm food. Instead, she wafted the smell towards Carmilla, whose mouth immediately started watering at the delicious scent, and her stomach let out another protest at not being fed yet. Carefully she took a small bite… and then began wolfing down the rest as she discovered her first taste of real food in over three centuries.

Swallowing, Laura was finally able to say, “Satisfied?” Carmilla only closed her eyes and smiled in bliss, refusing to stop eating even for a second. Grinning smugly, Laura returned to her own plate. They ate quickly, in companionable silence, holding hands under the table. Once they finished, Carmilla leaned back in her chair, eyes closed, hands resting on her now full stomach, and sighed happily.

“You’re a brilliant chef, cupcake. I never doubted you for a minute,” Carmilla said. Laura scoffed and rose to put the dishes in the sink. Before she could get to washing them, Carmilla came up behind her and picked her up bridal style.

Letting out a surprised squeak, Laura exclaimed, “Carm! What are you doing! Put me down!”

Chuckling, Carmilla replied, “The dishes can wait, cutie. Come cuddle with me for a while, we’re both exhausted." Rolling her eyes, Laura went along with it and allowed Carmilla to carry her over to the large, comfy sofa in the connecting living room. Carmilla set Laura down on her own feet before sitting in the corner of the couch, tucking herself in and reaching up to pull Laura down to her, settling the tired girl comfortably in her lap. Laura tucked her head into Carmilla’s neck, breathing in her fresh, clean scent. Carmilla wrapped her arms around Laura tightly, rubbing her cheek against the girl’s forehead, wishing she could still purr.

They sat in silence for several long moments. Just as Carmilla was beginning to think Laura had fallen asleep, she spoke.

“I died today.” Carmilla squeezed her eyes shut and tightened her hold on the small girl in her lap. She didn’t really want to think about it, but if Laura needed to talk about it she would. “I died, and you brought me back. And you almost died too, and Perry and Laf and Danny and everyone. So close.” Laura’s voice was small, and Carmilla’s lessened hearing almost didn’t pick it up, but she heard every word. She didn’t respond, just let Laura keep talking. “I was so scared, Carm. Scared we would fail, that we would lose everything and everyone. Scared that I would lose you.” Carmilla felt tears against her neck and stroked Laura’s hair and back comfortingly.

“Oh Laura. My beautiful, brave Laura. You are the most amazing, selfless, courageous, stubborn little human I have ever met. You saved the world, my mother… me. I can’t imagine the strength it all took. I was ready to die for you, but you… You did so much more. I know you’re tired and in shock, and there’s still more to do and clean up and square away, and your dad is definitely going to storm in here any minute and rake me over the coals for letting anything bad happen to you, but,” Carmilla pulled back and put her hand under Laura’s chin, lifting her head to meet her watery eyes, “for now, you can rest, and know that our friends, the school, hell, the world, is safe and sound. All thanks to you.” To her surprise, Carmilla discovered she was now crying also, and the more she spoke, the more she began to realize all over again how close she came to losing the only thing, he only person, who mattered to her. “You don’t have to be scared anymore, you don’t have to fight. Because you saved the world. You. I am so proud of you, and amazed, and I love you, so much.”

Laura brought her hands to Carmilla’s cheeks as tears flowed from both their eyes more quickly. She choked out, “I love you to, Carmilla,” before crashing their lips together in a desperate kiss. They kissed soundly for an eternity, tears mixing on their cheeks, hands roaming each other’s bodies, reassuring themselves that the other was still there. Safe and sound.

Eventually, slowly, they parted. They held each other’s gaze for a short moment before they both laughed, releasing the tension.

As Carmilla wiped the tears from both their faces, Laura said, “You’re definitely right about my dad. He’s gonna hunt you down for sure.” Carmilla paused, a mildly panicked looking spreading across her beautiful, tear-stained face. Laura laughed and reassured her, “Oh don’t look so scared, Miss Former-Terrifying-Creature-of-the-Night. He likes you. You’ll be fine,” and pecked her on the lips quickly before settling back down in Carmilla’s lap, head resting against her chest. “We’ll both be fine…” Carmilla hummed in agreement, laying her head back against the couch. She could feel herself drifting off, completely and utterly spent by the day’s events, and she knew Laura wasn’t far behind. Settling farther into the cushion and locking her arms around Laura so they wouldn’t slip, Carmilla closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Laura laid awake only a few minutes longer, content and happy. She placed her hand over Carmilla’s newly-beating heart, and let herself succumb to her exhaustion, lulled to sleep by the strong, steady beat of life.

-

Several hours later, Sherman Hollis arrived home, after a long day of dealing with soldiers and wary students. He had been less than thrilled, at first, to let Laura leave with Carmilla, especially since the centuries old vampire was now a centuries old human, but he saw how tired they were and didn’t have the heart to make them stay. He walked slowly through the house, towards the living room where a light was glowing dimly. Peeking in, he saw his daughter wrapped tightly in the embrace of the girl she absolutely adored, and who adored her in return. Smiling softly, he carefully spread a blanket over them before extinguishing the light and retreating to his own bed. He was reassured: they would both be perfectly safe with each other.

But he was still giving Carmilla her own bear spray.

**Author's Note:**

> This is likely the only fic I'll do for human!Carm, unless there is high demand for more. My headcannon is mortal!vamp!Carmilla. She's still got her vampire stuff, and her cat stuff, but she ages. Fight me.
> 
> Apologies for any mistakes, it's late af and I'm exhausted.
> 
> Thank you for reading! <3
> 
> Drop requests/prompts/submissions in my email or Tumblr inbox.
> 
> Tumblr: lesbitomboyish
> 
> Be happy <3


End file.
